Running With Quills, Blogsite for Jayne Ann Krentz, Elizabeth Lowell, Stella Cameron, and Suzanne Simmons
Susan Andersen
Suzanne Simmons



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Suzanne Simmons



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Suzanne Simmons






Welcome to Running With Quills, your online newsletter designed to keep you up to date with what your favorite authors (that would be us) are doing throughout the year. Here you will find the release dates of our new books and get information about our backlists. We'll preview our cover art here long before the books hit the stores and we'll keep you informed about works-in-progress and special projects. You'll also receive advance notice of signings and appearances. From time to time we'll give you a peek at our worlds, tell you what we're reading, and introduce you to some new authors.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Susan Talks Reviews





I have a pretty healthy ego when it comes to reviews. Love my books and I deem you the most brilliant reader in the world. Trash them and I question your intelligence, because obviously you didn’t get it. I've long since given up Googling myself, because frankly I'd just as soon not know if I've been given a crummy review at one of those slice-and-dice romance sites. Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss.

But that made me think about the preponderance of mean-spirited reviews. Is it just me, or do there seem to be more and more of those these days? I'm not talking about not liking a book--I think a reader either clicks with an author's story telling style or she doesn't. (And while my ego may be healthy, it's not megalomaniacal) I know not everyone is going to love my work. In fact, one of my favorite reviews is on Amazon for I can't remember which book. A couple readers thought it was a big step backward from their favorite work of mine and someone else set them straight. No, no, she wrote. Book A isn't her worst book, Book C is!" Cracked me up. That's kind of the "When they said you weren't fit to sleep with the pigs I said Yes You Were!" defense.

Still, there seems to be more and more reviews out there that are just plain malicious. Is it the anonymity of the internet that brings out the nastiness in some people, do you think? Or the fact that controversy is simply more entertaining?

In the end a reviewer can be as vicious as she pleases and I doubt it has an adverse affect on sales. I haven’t seen where good reviews make a difference. Out of fourteen published books I’ve had two of them garner starred reviews in Publisher Weekly. Neither of those books were my top sellers and, in fact, one saw a dip in the sales from the book preceding it. Conversely, a friend who once had one of her books at the center of a truly nasty (and if you ask me, libelous) campaign said it was one of her best sellers yet. So I don’t know, girls and boys.

Maybe I oughtta manufacture myself a nice juicy controversy. (g)

So what do you guys think? IS it simply my imagination that there are more mean-spirited reviews? And how much does a review, whether positive or negative, affect your own book buying decisions?



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37 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I like the book to be as fresh as possible when I read it and try not to have preconceived ideas that come from reviews.

After I read a book and if there's something off but can't explain, I'll look at a review. I recently read a book and there was something that bothered me but I couldn't identify it, I read a review and it hit the nail on the head.

Ro

12:23 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Actually I don´t think there are any more nor less of mean spirited people in general or critics in particular than before.
There are, however, much better opportunities these days to get your opinion to the masses with the Internet. And yes, I think the anonimity does play a part in the way people behave on the Net.
For me it´s easy to dismiss vicious critics simply because they almost never back up their arguments with any kind of rhetoric. The same goes for the gushy blind adoration of some fans who are unable or unwilling to look critically at the work of their favorite authors.
For me critique is just that, critique. It´s not blind, good or bad, it´s simply a personal view based on observations and rhetoric. You should, in my opinion, not be emotional about it but try to be objective, fair but always, always, HONEST.
Give credit where credit is due and point out the weak points if any.
Sirry.

12:52 AM  
Blogger DFender said...

Susan,
I think, too, that there are more mean reviews, books, movies and television.

I don't know if it's because those reviewers expectations aren't realistic or because those reviewers are jealous of some talent that they want and don't have. I've always been of the camp that thinks most mean things people say stem from jealousy anyway.

Movie reviews usually do nothing but annoy me so that I sway to the opposite side of whatever they review. They hate it; I'll like it. They like it; I'll pass.

Books and television reviews I ignore. I don't care what anyone else thinks (big surprise! lol) and I read and watch what I enjoy regardless.

Have a wonderful day!
Deb

3:22 AM  
Anonymous AgTigress said...

I think Sirry is right.

Reviewing a book properly is a demanding skill in itself, requiring experience and self-discipline, and because just anyone can now get a review onto the internet, some of the reviews out there, whether favourable or unfavourable, are written so incompetently that it seems a wonder the reviewer could even read a book in the first place.

Although reviewing fiction must always have a much larger element of personal taste in it than reviewing non-fiction, the broad rules for the latter should still apply: the reviewer should provide some sort of summary or overview that will tell the reader whether they will want/need to read the work, should highlight particular strengths and virtues, and should also draw attention to specific faults before reaching a final (personal) conclusion as to the quality of the book. A proper balance is required. It is rare that a book is perfect, or so shockingly bad that there is nothing whatever good to say about it. Writing a review according to those principles is like writing any other short critical essay: it requires skill.

The reviewer who chooses to discuss only the virtues of a book, or only its faults, is violating the unwritten rules of civilised debate and criticism, and is simply a Bad Reviewer (even if she can spell and punctuate correctly), whose opinion should be immediately discounted.

3:25 AM  
Blogger Ladytink_534 said...

Nope, it’s not your imagination. There are more vicious reviews now that someone can put on an anonymous face. Let's just face it. People are malicious! Personally, I don't trust a review about something unless I know the person and even if they didn’t like a book doesn’t mean I won’t. What usually decides it for me is if I liked something else that the author has written then I’ll try their new book no matter what the reviews for them is.

4:29 AM  
Blogger Lori Foster said...

Susan, I get a lot of nasty reviews, and I've sold over 60 books. So nope, I don't put a lot of stock in reviews. My very first book got a 1 from RT and that seems to have set a pattern. :-)

My last book got a really hideous review from Publisher's Weekly. :::shrug:::

As long as I hear from happy readers - and I do - then it's easy to dismiss the reviews. Obviously in my case, they have no impact.

And yeah, the internet lets a lot of cranky people vent. Sometimes I think it's because a reader gets very invested in a book or series, and then if she's disappointed, she takes it personally. I don't mind that, and in fact, I understand it.
But when someone consistently trashes all books... well, she/he just looks like a fool, imo.

It's FREEZING here, literally. Brrr....

Lori

5:04 AM  
Anonymous AgTigress said...

On the issue of anonymity, it may be that some anonymous internet reviewers are simply protecting their own privacy in the dangerous shoals of the cyber-sea, rather than hiding because they are not prepared to stand up for their views and cite sound justification for them.
But in the world of printed reviews, anonymity is morally unacceptable. Even in cases like pre-publication refereeing of academic articles, where a referee is always entitled to preserve his or her anonymity, I consider this wrong. There is often a standard question when one is asked to referee a paper - 'would you be prepared to allow the author to know your identity if we quote your comments?' I always reply 'yes'. A critic who is unwilling to stand up publicly for her views either knows that they are not entirely fair, or has failed to substantiate them appropriately - and knows it.

6:07 AM  
Blogger Susan Andersen said...

Oh, you guys. As always you have insightful, well thought out comments. I am off for the weekend (hubby's home from Russia--yayyy!!) so will check in again on Sunday.

A fine weekend to you all!

Lori, it's beautiful here! Sunny, high sixties, low seventies. It's supposed to change on Saturday, though, so I'm enjoying it for all I'm worth before then.

Happy Friday. ~Susan

8:25 AM  
Blogger Karibear said...

I doubt that there's an increase in mean-spirited people out there, I think the increase is in venues for them to air their insecurities. When I first got on the internet, I was more involved with newsgroups than any other forum [until the past few years, anyway] and there were always some people who seemed driven to dump on anyone or anything creative or positive. I rather pitied them, but eventually I quit ngs because flaming for it's own sake is so counter-productive, and I got tired of being called a liar [the comment most suitable for this site ;-)] - I'm not thin-skinned, but it got to be too much a waste of time.

I ignore reviews entirely, when it comes to buying books. I know better than the reviewers do what I like, after all. I chose new books/writers through my own browsing and conversations with certain bookstore owners that I knew personally.

Reviewers seem to come in two types: [1] "If I didn't write it, it's not good enough." [2] "If I slam it badly enough, everyone will know how 'educated' I am."

What actually inspires me to read something totally new by a previously unknown writer is learning something personal about the writer. I'd like to know the person behind the imagination, the person who has enough drive to actually finish a manuscript and send it off. I don't want to intrude into their personal lives, I just want to know something more about them than 'he/she had written X number of books' or 'he/she lives in X city.'

9:31 AM  
Anonymous Caryn said...

Great timing on this one. I had *just* seen someone give my blog only two stars, and it had me questioning all of my writing, then feeling so disspirited that I wanted to eat chocolate and read a book instead of, well, eating chocolate and writing one. Which is completely ridiculous. And so, before heading over to Running with Quill for a little inspiration, I turned my thoughts to whether it's a good trend that absolutely everything is subject to public ratings--teachers (who shouldn't be trying to win student popularity with easy assignments, but to educate), personal blogs (even if they're simply written for fun), recipes (even though everybody's taste buds are different), and even raters' ratings. As a consumer, this is very helpful. I look for reviews of more expensive products before buying them, and before making a recipe I read the ratings to see if it's worth my time. But then I've begun to wonder what I've missed out on because of one bad review. After all, I've been led astray plenty of times by good reviews with which I didn't agree. This leaves me wondering where the line should be drawn, and if one should be drawn at all.

On a related subject, I admire you for being able to ignore and/or discount any negative reviews. It's something I need to figure out how to do when/if I'm published. As it is, I am constantly checking my blog stats, which I know isn't good for me. I'm the type who simply *has* to know, even if I'm told I'll be sorry. That, coupled with caring too much about what others think of me when I do find out, is not a good combination, and one I'm working to overcome. Working with teenagers, as I do, helps develop a thick skin. Any other tips, other than canceling my internet service?

10:06 AM  
Anonymous Tammy said...

Personally I think there are more mean-spirited folks out there - or at least more that are willing to say nasty things because of the anonymity.

As for myself - I ignore oview and tv reviews altogether. As for books - I ONLY read the ones in RT, and even then I"m more interested in what the book is about than in what the review has to say. I take what the reviewer has to say with a grain of salt. There are a few reveiwers there that I know if they give a review one or two stars I'm gonna love, and the opposite is also true if they give something a 4 or 5 I'm not going to like it at all.

10:19 AM  
Anonymous Kirsten Crippen said...

I like to read reviews - if only to get an idea of the basic feel. However, I do take the review with a grain of salt. I have really enjoyed books that were trashed and really hated some well-reviewed books.

I also like to read reviews to see if there are any books out there or authors that I need to pick up on.

In the end, it depends what the reviewer's actual complaint is for me to give them creedence.

10:24 AM  
Anonymous Ranurgis said...

I'm usually not too fond of reader reviews and on the whole, don't bother looking at them. I do find that they can be quite vicious for no apparent reason, verbally demolishing books that I really enjoyed.

One thing is that some people always seem to expect something new and brilliant and off-the-wall. Now really, how often can people come up with completely new ideas. Even the paranormals are bound to run out of new ideas for really fresh stories soon. And the erotic books will reach their limits--maybe already have--as well. So why not just enjoy a *well-written* story, though of course, a lot of people have such poor language skills they wouldn't recognize a well-written book.

From some reviews I have the impression that the so-called reader has more or less skimmed through the book, seen some familiar elements and decided the book is just a repitition of an old plot.

You're right, Susan, I don't like every author's books but for most of them I can still find something redeeming to say. Just trashing a book is not the way to go. I find it demeaning to both the writer and to other readers. And I'd never let the trashing of a favorite author or one that I even just liked deter me from reading a book, as long as I, myself, still found the plot interesting. The "reviewer" is not doing such a good deed for himself either.

Sometimes it seems to me almost as if "readers" are being paid to trash certain books or authors. I'd certainly hate for that to be true.

On the whole, as I said, I don't read the reader reviews, and sometimes any reviews until after I've read and enjoyed (or not) the book.

On the other hand, I think we have to counteract the nay-sayers. I rarely write a review in the market places even if I adore the book. Maybe those of us who enjoy the books are just less vocal about it and take it for granted that everybody enjoys the same books we do.

And as Sirry says, I think writing a real review is a craft, a true skill. I don't know enough of what goes into writing a book to actually feel competent enough to write a true review. All I can do is talk about my gut and emotional reaction. I was always lousy at critically looking at a text. My forte is the language, the grammar and the feelings the book evokes in me.

10:51 AM  
Anonymous Ranurgis said...

P.S. We had our first snowfall yesterday and the temperature was at the freezing point. The snow didn't stay on the ground, though. It's still too warm not to absorb and melt anything but a real storm with a huge amount of snow.

10:59 AM  
Anonymous AgTigress said...

One interesting point that occurs to me is that, as far as potential readers of fiction are concerned, reading and responding to reviews is more or less optional. Good reviews in widely-circulated media will be good for sales, of course, but for leisure reading, none of us is actually obliged to take any notice of reviews at all, and many of you have said that you don't.

This is not the case in some non-fiction areas. A professional in my area of research (and, I am sure, many others) must keep up to date with new books in the field, and it is usually the case that there simply is not enough time for him/her to read everything that is published on the subject. Reviews in professional journals therefore fulfil a rather different function from the reviews of novels: they are the route that the potential reader must follow to help him sort out those books he should buy, those he should read, those he may need to refer to, those that he may safely ignore, according to the relevance of the publications for his work, and their quality. For that reason, the books are usually reviewed by the writer's peers, other experts in the same discipline (often personally acquainted with the author). They must follow the rules I mentioned above, of summarising the book and of being fair, balanced and frank. Journal editors will make sure that they are of a high standard, and we all regard reviewing as a serious responsibility.

I think this is why I find some reviews of fiction (and not only those by semi-literate 'readers'!) fairly shocking; too many of them are sloppy and amateurish, failing to assess the book properly in an objective, thoughtful and responsible way.

11:32 AM  
Blogger btuda said...

I still have not forgiven Siskel and Ebert for giving the movie "The Black Stallion" two thumbs down.

I remember combing the library while growing up and occassionally picking up an "award winner." Maybe it is my simple brain, but all too often whenever I tried to read it, I was bored to tears. I find the same with movies. My husband and I tried to watch "Sin City" because I heard how fantastic it was, only to have him loathe it and remind me why I didn't like pulp fiction to begin with. The English Patient? Fell asleep. Same went for whatever that Emma Thompson, Anthony Hopkins movie was.

But this is about books. I think there are more "outrageous" reviews, because that is what gets the attention, the interviews, the five minute spot on Larry King. Are there more negative people in general? Hard to tell.

The only time I really read a review is to find out more about the story itself. Is there something there I think would be interesting? Is there a subplot about something I consider a deal-breaker (a topic I cannot wade through no matter what or need therapy when I'm done)?

That is why I love the library so much. If I want to be adventurous and try something new, nothing is lost if I stop part-way through. Then I buy what I like.

12:25 PM  
Blogger Estella said...

I don't pay a lot of attention to the reviews, if I read them at all. I buy my books by author, not by whatever someone else has said about them.

12:38 PM  
Anonymous Jaclyne said...

Susan, I've heard so many others say the same thing. Reviewers are getting nasty, but who really bases their purchases on the words of an anonymous person who tosses about ugly comments...like their opinion counts... not with me. I'll read any book that strikes my fancy. If in the end I didn't like it, I'll move on to something else (I rarely put down a book without finishing it first). If I did enjoy the story, chances are I'll go back for more!

4:05 PM  
Blogger Stella said...

Susan, You've written a wonderful blog for a wonderful group of readers and writers.

Every good point has already been covered. Who does give credence to rude and spiteful people? And if I ever arrive at a stage when I try to beat others down in order to pump myself up . . . Ignore me, if that happens:)

Thank you, Susan.

Stella

5:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think that if you feel you have to write a review because you didnt care for a book, the least you can do is be polite about it....when you write a review that is just bashing the author and the book you just look like an ass..thats my opinion at least

6:02 PM  
Anonymous Ranurgis said...

I think most of us need different things from the books that we read. I had to read a lot of "literary" books, which I'm sure many of you had to, and most of them bored me stiff. I need something to take me away from my present circumstances since I can't travel or go to the movies or even afford TV.

Agtigress needs to keep on top of her chosen field of work and interest and can get a lot out of a peer review.

As far as our leisure books go, the German saying I remember best for that translates to something like "What to one person sounds like an owl to another sounds like a nightingale" and I think that is very true and that is why we have so many writers with different styles and stories.

On another note: It seems that the bad weather here was dumped in total on the Niagara Region on both sides of the border with record snowfalls for the western NY area. Am I glad we didn't get that though for some reason I feel chilled to the bone and I haven't even been out today.

I think it screwed up a lot of my e-mail too. Some is suspiciously absent, one that I'm supposed to get every day especially.

I guess the Seattle area doesn't get too many of those, though Lori might.

Btuda, as far as "The Black Stallion" goes, I was disappointed to a certain extent in that the movie did not follow the book as far as characters and even plot went. However, I loved the way Alec and the Black got to know each other on the island. I was unaware that Siskel and Ebert gave it two thumbs down.

6:03 PM  
Blogger Jayne Ann Krentz said...

Great blog, Susan. One does have to wonder about anyone who feels obliged to rip someone else's creation (and, often, the artist, herself/himself), to shreds. Can we say "bad karma"? How about "bad manners"?

Send a lot of negativity out into the universe and you can expect a lot of that same stuff back.

--Jayne

7:35 PM  
Blogger Lori Foster said...

Russia! Susan, how exciting. I'm glad he'll be home. You two have a wonderful weekend!
(Here in Ohio, it's 31 and super windy. Tomorrow we're all going - as a family - to an underground river that winds through caves. I just know I'm going to freeze! LOL)

Stella, you could never be so mean-spirited. I've known you long enough to know that for sure.

Jayne, my husband and I believe in karma too, and we hope our sons do as well. Negativity feeds negativity, and vice versa. I've seen it, felt it, and know it to be true.

There were soooo many wonderful comments on here! What a terrific blog.

HUGS!

Lori

3:58 AM  
Anonymous dee said...

again I don't know where to stick this but help anybody, there probably is an answer to this but I don't know where to look, and Jayne probably had this before but was there a book with Molly and Hawk from Too Wild to Wed?

6:24 AM  
Anonymous AgTigress said...

Dee asked: '..was there a book with Molly and Hawk from Too Wild to Wed?'

Answer: no.
:-)

6:59 AM  
Anonymous Julie Rowe said...

Someone else's opinion is someone else's opinion, not mine. I'm not fond of Picasso, but I know lots of people who are. I prefer to make my own decisions about books, movies and other forms of art

Vive la difference!

8:37 PM  
Blogger cate said...

There are more mean reviews out there. It's a trend and a bad habit. Look at any tv lately? As I flip through the channels, it's all about dissing, complaining and badass attitudes. I appreciate wise cracks now and then, comic relief, etc. but after a while I hope it will cease to amuse the viewers. It says nothing about who is being "roasted" and
everything about people's need to criticize and condemn others. Pity. I'd like to see them write a best selling book.

9:17 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

In my opinion, if you will allow it, reviews whether good or bad reflect the reader and not the material. Granted I am not a college-educated professional critic, but as an adult (sometimes!) I do know what do and don't like in a book. As an individual I realize that not everyone is going to agree with me, so when someone asks for an opinion/suggestion/recommendation for a book, I give them the name of authors I like. Reviews are merely recommendations out there for the world to see. The amount of bad reviews out there bothers me however, because if people actually pay them any heed and stay away from reading altogether, they might miss the oppurtunity (sp) to experience a wonderful story.

Not every author will have a best seller--heck, even Dicken's had a miss or two, but allowing bad reviews to affect the readers/writers or publishers is just wrong--and unjustifiable.

Keep reading--you never know what you might find.

2:00 PM  
Anonymous AgTigress said...

There is much in what 'anonymous' above says. In fiction particularly, personal taste is paramount, and a book that one person adores may be heartily disliked by someone else. Nevertheless, there are some absolutes. I, for one, would prefer to read an intelligent, witty, literate book on a theme that is not one of my favourites than a clumsy, weak and badly-written mess of a book on a topic that usually interests me.

Good, fair, objective, professional-quality reviewing by a reviewer who has read the book with close attention and an open mind, is still immensely valuable to both readers and writers, because it will deal with matters that are not just those of personal taste - such as how convincing the characterisation is, how vivid the dialogue, how accurate the background research.

Before a book makes it into print, it will already have been read by many people, all of whom will have commented. A good reviewer (and by that I do not mean a fulsome, gushing, uncritical one, but a well-informed, fair and thoughtful one - who is able to write properly him/herself) may still make constructive comments that will be of value to both writer and reader.

What seems to me one of the worst elements of all about the increase in sloppy, incompetent, spiteful, malicious reviews is that if too much of that kind of thing is out there, neither authors nor readers are going to bother much any more with reviews at all, and so all the real benefits of responsible reviewing, by objective and independent critics, will be lost.

2:26 PM  
Blogger Jayne Ann Krentz said...

Excellent point, AgTigress: I agree with you. There is a legitimate value to reasoned, thoughtful reviews that is in danger of being destroyed by too much of the sloppy, spiteful, malicious stuff that passes for reviews these days.

--Jayne

7:44 PM  
Blogger Cbell said...

I typically don't read reviews for a book. I will be persuaded to read a new author if it has the recommendation of another author I enjoy reading. If a Quill recommends it, I am going out the next day and find a copy!

8:09 AM  
Blogger Cheryl said...

I have seldom found reviews to be helpful. Sometimes I think they look for critical thoughtful writings and I just want to know if the story and characters will interest me.

Personally I think the whole world is becoming negative and self centered, but that's just my opinion. LOL

Working in a library I get a lot of questions about 'good books' and you always have to follow it up with questions that help determine what type of books they like. What one person loves another might find okay and another think it's a waste of time. What everyone needs to remember is that their opinion or 'review' only reflects what they like or don't like.

10:17 AM  
Anonymous Ivka said...

There are only few places that I will read reviews at. Mostly I love to go to the store and browze through the books and read the back cover. I buy 90 % of my books by reading the blurb or excerpt of the book. Also I will buy book if it is recommended by the members of the groups I am in.

There were few times that I saw review of the book get only 1 or 2 stars and I read the book and loved it, so I don't rely on the reviews.

5:38 PM  
Anonymous Lou said...

What AgTigress said.

Also, I think that television news has changed the way folks think. Bad news, dissing, etc. pump ratings. Also, many comics feed off of putting others down. So we get very few feel good stories, surrounded by what is essentially nastiness and negativity. I believe this *karma* flows over into all other aspects of life for a lot of people. I also feel that it makes some people feel important to slam someone that they feel is "better than they are." So... long story short, yes, I believe that there are a lot more nasty reviews out there.

For myself, I don't pay any attention to reviews. I like what I like and don't care if anyone else likes it or not. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

11:21 AM  
Blogger Yasmine Galenorn said...

Are there more mean reviews? I don't know, but there certainly are more opportunities for people to post them. And now, thanks to the net, we have to see at least the ratings if we want to order off of on-line bookstores. I get some great reviews, and some negative ones, but I've forced myself to stop reading them lately because there have been a few--on blogs and on a few other sites--that were just vicious. They couldn't just say "It wasn't a book that I liked" or "I didn't like the book because..." They had to start trashing me in the process. So I'm done reading reviews as much as possible (except when my publisher sends me a good one!).

I don't give negative reviews either. If I don't like a book, I just let it drop--give it to the library or something. If I really like a book, however, I will think about posting a review. IMO, reviews are subjective, and reflect only the opinions of the reader in question. And while you can look at the overall trend in reviews, the fact is that I like a lot of movies that have been panned and books that haven't scored great reviews, either.

Great blog entry.
Yasmine

2:22 PM  
Anonymous Isabelle said...

I tend to buy the author, not the review. The reviewer may have had a bad day, or just not like the
kind of book being reviewed. (I've often wondered why they don't just say, 'This isn't my cup of tea',
and let it go at that!) Sometimes I don't like the plot, but that seldom happens if I stick to an author.
When it does, I donate it to the library. I've over a thousand books in my personal library, and I
do reread a lot of them. I do try new authors, but go a lot by the blurbs on the cover. (I usually
try new authors in paperback!)

9:51 AM  
Blogger elf said...

I am an avid reader and I am occasionally gratified to win ARCs or other works to review. I agonize over the novels that I really don't like and try to find something positive to say because I feel that each book is someone's hard work and I always hear my mom's voice in the back of my mind saying "if you can't say something nice..." I am never sure about the etiquette in criticizing something that I don't like because I know that others wlll evaluate a work in llght of their own experiences and perhaps see something entirely different. I tend to sign things anonymously because I am a professional in a relatively small town but I don't think that gives me a license to be mean-spirited. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there who have gotten ahead by being mean and crabby and whining that they've forgotten that there are others who can be negatively impacted by their actions. (I just had the interesting experience of visiting the chatroom for the Halloween party and got tired of the whiny complaining so I had to leave). I have always enjoyed the works of you "Quillers" (one of whom I fell in love with during her Candlelight Ecstasy days) and will continue to look for your works (no matter what the covers look like!).

7:16 PM  

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